Cheesehead
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
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GREEN BAY – It supposedly wasn’t even in Mason Crosby’s range Sunday.
As the Packers crossed the Giants’ 30-yard line early in the second quarter of their 31-13 victory, Head Coach Matt LaFleur had been told the 27 was the target for Crosby going that direction, meaning a 45-yard field goal was his max.
With MetLife Stadium at its snowiest and with the Packers trying to add to a 14-7 lead, it was fourth-and-8 from the 29, apparently two yards too far. Or not.
“I yelled at Mason, ‘Hey, can you get it there,’ and he gave me a thumbs up,” LaFleur said on Monday, recapping the Packers’ road win. “So I sent him out there, and it’s a good thing. Those were important points at that point in time.”
The spur-of-the-moment call worked out, as the 47-yarder was good by plenty to give the Packers a 10-point lead. Personal circumstances aside – Crosby’s sister-in-law had passed away on Friday – the conditions alone made it his toughest kick of the season, and he’s now 14-of-15 on field goals in 2019, as well as perfect on extra points (33-of-33).
“I’m going to trust what our players think they’re capable of doing,” LaFleur said. “I wanted to ask him at least. If he would have had any type of hesitation, I wouldn’t have put him in that situation. I have a lot of confidence and a lot of faith in him and he’s answered every time.”
The story only adds to what was already a very emotional and memorable game for Crosby, who made all five of his kicks (one field goal, four PATs) to conclude a weekend of flying back and forth to Texas to be with family.
When Crosby went to talk to LaFleur about the situation on Friday, LaFleur admitted “it’s hard to have the right words for anybody in that situation,” but he simply asked Crosby how he wanted to handle it and told him the team would accommodate. Crosby hadn’t missed a game in his career and still hasn’t, with his streak now at 204 straight contests, 222 including postseason.